Former England hitman Alan Shearer has backed Andy Cole to make it on the biggest stage of all as he bids to end his goal drought against Albania tonight.

Shearer, who retired from international football in the summer after scoring 30 goals for his country in 63 appearances, knows exactly the pressure under which the Manchester United striker is operating as he tries to break his duck.

Cole has 12 caps to his name and is yet to find the back of the net, but the Newcastle captain, who went 11 games without a goal in the run-up to Euro 96, is confident that he can make the breakthrough.

"Andy Cole has got a tremendous track record and I have no doubt whatsoever that when he gets his first international goal, others will follow," said Shearer. "It will become so much easier for him.

"I've watched him any number of times and his all-round game is very good. I feel he can score goals for England.

"But it must be remembered he is not going to get as many chances at international level as he does at Manchester United. He'll get goals, but nowhere near as many.

"You're always going to have times in a season, never mind in your career, when goals are hard to come by and consequently, you have a dip in your form. It happens to everyone."

Shearer's comments are generous in the context of Cole's repeated criticism of the Newcastle striker's exalted position with successive England managers.

But Shearer is glad to see Cole receive the backing of current coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and refuses to be drawn into a tit-for-tat response.

"It's great when you, as a player, are backed up by your manager," Shearer said. "That applies now for Andy with Mr Eriksson and I applaud him for doing that.

"The one thing I hated when I was going through a barren patch just before Euro 96 was that people came out of the woodwork to offer their advice.

"That really got me angry, so I don't want to be seen to be doing that on this occasion."

Shearer's backing also extended to his former strike partner, Michael Owen.

"I can never understand people having such a go at Michael either," he said. "How old is he and look at what he has already achieved in the game.

"He has done marvellously well and yet people are doubting him. I simply can't understand why. Why do people have a go?

"Everyone has times when their form dips, but footballers have to peak Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday.

"Some other sportsmen - for example boxers - train for six months for one fight, and yet we're expected to be in peak form every game over 10 months."

When Shearer ended his international career, he also handed over his captain's armband, and he is delighted at the way David Beckham has taken on the job so far.

"He's handling it very well," he said. "You don't have to be a shouter like I was when you have the captaincy at international level.

"At that level, you're expected to know enough about tactics and other things, such as your positional sense, to get by on your own anyway."